Betta Compatibility Guide

[thestompa]

Originally Posted by LolaQuigs

How many fish do you keep in your small tanks, and exactly how small are they?

Do you have a picture of your algae eater? Many of them can get pretty good-sized, and like I said, some species will get way too aggressive for a community tank. It might seem ok now, but depending on species it could outgrow its tank or become aggressive.

I think Chinese algae eater. I bought the small one.

[LolaQuigs]

If it is a Chinese algae eater, you really need to move it. It may seem ok now, but as it gets older it will become more aggressive and it could suck the slime coat off your betta. CAEs can grow to be almost a foot long, so you either need to rehome it or get a large tank for it, and keep it away from slow moving fish like bettas!

[shinybetta]

CAE's don't even eat algea well. They prefer slime coat and fish, a well as other meaty foods.

[Slipstitch]

I'm kind of testing a theory... I found a fish place that the employees seemed to have something of a clue. What about Otocinclus? They only get to a couple inches in length and are apparently non-agressive. I'm testing it out so far with my 15 gal. with some female bettas... No issues so far, just the girls like to tease them, lol. They'll swim up and poke them with their noses and I guess they otos are high strung, they spazz and fly across the tank, lol. It's kind of like a game of tag. The girls aren't nipping them at all or anything like that. Just poking them, chasing them, then going back to chasing eachother and exploring their new home. I guess my question is more along the lines of if anyone's had complications with such a pairing?

[shinybetta]

Otocinclus are great betta tankmates. They are very gentle and don't get in anyones way.

[Slipstitch]

awesome! what about with male bettas?

[shinybetta]

Any betta, so long as their personality allows.

[Slipstitch]

excellent. i'll see how my boys take it

[ansalong]

Originally Posted by Sweeda88

You should also add that you should NEVER have any kind of shark (red tailed, bala, rainbow) with Betta fish.

Reviving this thread out of curiosity. I am not planning to combine a Betta and a bala shark, but I am curious as to why one never should. Is is because of how big the shark gets, or do they get aggressive? The bala sharks I've seen have all been very peaceful, even when they grow, and they occupy a different level of the tank. Though I've never seen them with Bettas so I don't know how they interact. Thanks!